Straightforward Guide To Divorce And The Law , livre ebook

Straightforward Publishing - Sharon Freeman

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75 pages

English

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Description

A Straightforward Guide to Divorce and the Law has been updated to reflect changes in the legal system affecting divorce proceedings to 2015 and is designed exclusively for anyone who wishes to proceed with a divorce case without the use of a solicitor or who wishes simply to learn more about the processes involved in divorce and the judicial system. The book is clear and concise and will prove to be an invaluable guide. All the relevant forms are included.

Sujets

Inglaterra

Family law

Law

Wales

England

Informations

Publié par	Straightforward Publishing
Date de parution	25 mars 2015
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781847165527
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0300€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

A STRAIGHTFORWARD GUIDE TO DIVORCE AND THE LAW
Sharon Freeman
www.straightforwardco.co.uk
Straightforward Guides
Straightforward Publishing 2015
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electronic or mechanical, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright holder.
ISBN 978-1-84716-500-8 eISBN: 978-1-84716-552-7
Printed by 4edge Limited www.4edge.co.uk Cover design by Bookworks Islington
Whilst every effort has been taken to ensure that the information in this book is accurate, at the time of going to print, the publisher and author cannot accept any liability for errors or omissions within.
CONTENTS
Introduction to this book
1. Marriage and cohabitation
2. Divorce - main principles of the law
3. Commencing proceedings
4. The procedure for obtaining a divorce
5. Children and divorce
6. Financial support for children
7. Financial arrangements and divorce
8. Protection in your Home
9 Other considerations
10. Divorce in Scotland
11. The Civil Partnerships Act 2004
List of the main county court forms used in divorce proceedings
Further information-Useful addresses
Index
INTRODUCTION TO THIS BOOK
In the main, those who have bothered to pick up this book will be people who want to know more about marriage and divorce or civil partnerships and dissolution or have experienced an initial separation from their partner and are now considering taking the first steps towards finalizing divorce/dissolution. The book will also concern those who wish to know more about the Civil Partnerships Act 2004 and civil unions. It has been a few years since the advent of the Civil Partnerships Act so the question of dissolution of partnerships is now relevant as quite a few couples have decided to dissolve their partnerships.
The book now includes a summary of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, which came into force on the 17th of July 2013.
Marriage or civil partnerships can be wonderful institutions and are fine until things go wrong. Everything associated with separation and divorce or dissolution is usually traumatic and hurtful to those involved. A 2014 study, of 2,000 Britons who have either divorced or ended a long-term relationship, found that 54 per cent had had second thoughts about whether they had made the right decision. Simply realising that they missed or still loved their ex-partner was the main reason for the regret, while others felt lonely, believed that they were to blame or discovered that the grass wasn t greener.
It also emerged that four in ten couples had tried to give the relationship another try after the break-up, with one in five couples such staying together. The Children and Families Act 2014 now makes it mandatory for divorcing couples to first attend mediation sessions to try to resolve their problems before divorcing, although their are exceptions such as people divorcing because of domestic violence.
Among the other reasons for regret sited by the respondents were feeling a failure, finding out that their ex-partner had met someone else, and realising they were happier in their relationship than being on their own.
This book does not attempt to deal with the more personal aspects of divorce and dissolution, such as the sense of failure and sense of loss. However, what it does do is offer a more practical insight into how the divorce/dissolution process works on a legal level and how you can prepare yourself adequately for these final steps towards ending your marriage/partnership.
As you begin the process of getting divorced, or dissolution, you may feel that, rather than go rushing immediately to a solicitor, you want to gain a clearer picture of what lies ahead and a background knowledge of the procedures involved. You might even want to do a lot of the work yourself, in order to keep costs down and to exercise more control. Getting divorced, or experiencing a dissolution of a civil partnership will usually involve a lot more than simply obtaining a decree, which announces that your marriage/partnership is over. There will, in most cases, be questions surrounding children, property, money etc. From this book you will gain a practical insight into the law surrounding the divorce process and also how these other matters are resolved. A word of caution: it should be remembered that in certain situations it will not be advisable to do it alone without the use of a solicitor. Such cases will be where children and assets are involved and negotiation is needed, or where there are other conflicts.
Initially, in Chapter 1 , we deal with traditional marriage then discuss the Marriage Act 2013. As the marriage Act is so new, other than make reference to the fact that the procedures for divorce for same sex couples are contained within the Act we deal mainly with conventional marriages. Civil partnerships are dealt with in Chapter 11 .
1
Marriage and Cohabitation
The main law governing marriage in England states that marriage is the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others , although this has now been modified with the introduction of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. Given that the above Act is so new, we will begin by discussing conventional marriage.
Much has changed in family life over the years and today, marriages break up with alarming frequency and more and more people choose to live together as opposed to marrying.
This section is about the institution of conventional marriage and how it works within the law. We will look at who can get married, the engagement, marriage formalities, effects of marriage, cohabitation and agreements. Reference will be made to the 2013 Act towards the end of the chapter although the body of the law that applies to conventional marriage also applies to same sex marriages..
Marriage
The law states that, in order to marry, a person must:
a) be unmarried
b) be over the age of 18
You are also legally a single person if your previous marriage has been annulled. Basically, anyone who wants to marry must be a single person in the eyes of the law. A person must be over 18. If a person is aged between 16-18 parental consent must be gained. A marriage where one of the persons is under 18 is absolutely void, unless parental consent has been gained. If someone marries between the ages of 16-18 the marriage is voidable as opposed to void (see below). Parents, guardians or the courts must consent to a marriage for someone between 16-18 years old.
The Civil Partnerships Act 2004 has introduced civil unions between same sex partners. Through a Civil Partnership, people of the same sex will acquire many of the rights of a conventional married couple. See chapter 11 on civil partnerships. However, the law of conventional marriage specifies that the marriage must be between partners of opposite sexes. In 2013, the Marriage (Same sex Couples) Act was introduced which now allows same sex couples the same rights to marry as the law covering conventional marriage. There are some differences between the two laws, particularly the right to get married in a church. and this is outlined below.
No marriage can take place between close relations, i.e. blood relations, or non-blood relations where the relation is so close that a ban on intermarriage is still imposed. Adopted children are generally treated in law as blood relatives. Brothers in law and sisters in law can marry as can stepparent and stepchild if the stepchild has not been raised as a child of the family and is over 21 years old.
Marriages must be voluntary
A marriage must be voluntary and not brought about through coercion. This brings about a problem in law when arranged marriages take place, as is the custom in certain ethnic groups. In general the law does not interfere with arranged marriages.
However, the courts will get involved if it is felt that there is duress and there is a threat of injury to life or liberty or a child is threatened with expulsion from home or community.
Forced marriage
A forced marriage is where one or both people do not (or in cases of people with learning disabilities, cannot) consent to the marriage and pressure or abuse is used. It is an appalling and indefensible practice and is recognised in the UK as a form of violence against women and men, domestic/child abuse and a serious abuse of human rights.
The pressure put on people to marry against their will can be physical (including threats, actual physical violence and sexual violence) or emotional and psychological (for example, when someone is made to feel like they re bringing shame on their family). Financial abuse (taking your wages or not giving you any money) can also be a factor.
Legislation on Forced Marriage
The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 makes it a criminal offence to force someone to marry. This includes:
Taking someone overseas to force them to marry (whether or not the forced marriage takes place)
Marrying someone who lacks the mental capacity to consent to the marriage (whether they re pressured to or not)
Breaching a Forced Marriage Protection Order is also a criminal offence
The civil remedy of obtaining a Forced Marriage Protection Order through the family courts will continue to exist alongside the new criminal offence, so victims can choose how they wish to be assisted
Forcing someone to marry can result in a sentence of up to 7 years in prison. Disobeying a Forced Marriage Protection Order can result in a sentence of up to 5 years in prison
Forced Marriage Unit
The Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) is a joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Home Office unit was which set up in January 2005 to lead on the Government s forced marriage policy, outreach and casework. It operates both inside the UK, where support is provided to any individual, and overseas, where consular assistance is provided to